Harry Potter and the Other School 1
A Set of Letters
Harry came down the stairs, running fingers through his hair. The ten-year-old boy was not looking forward to his day. He rarely did. Dudley had been accepted to Smeltings and he'd spent the past few days taunting Harry and hitting him with his Smeltings stick. Harry was going to attend the local community school. Worse, Harry's birthday wasn't far off and his relatives always got meaner around that time.
As he passed by the door, he heard a clink and saw a letter fall onto the mat in front of the door. Then another. And another. And another. The letters piled higher, and soon a small mound of letters rested upon the doormat. Frowning, Harry bent over and started to pick up the letters.
Each was addressed to him!
Harry Potter
4 Privet Drive
LITTLE WHINGING
CR6 0AB
UK
One even mentioned "The Smallest Bedroom". Which Harry found rather strange.
As he flipped through the letters, he saw a variety of names. Beauxbatons. Durmstrang. Hogwarts. Parthenon. Uagadou. And more. Such strange names! Opening the first one, he saw: You have been invited to attend the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!
Slowly, Harry went upstairs to his room. Closing his bedroom door, he sat at his rickety desk, looking through the various letters. Each one was from what seemed to be a school of magic, and each wanted him to attend.
At first, he couldn't help think it was an elaborate prank. That is until he noticed that the letterhead for Uagadou was actually moving. It was so cool-looking!
Remembering some of the strange things that happened to him in the past, from his teacher's hair turning blue to his somehow ending up on the school roof, Harry came to a conclusion: magic was real.
Either that or someone had laid the groundwork of a bloody insane prank for literally years.
Harry thought that was unlikely.
Not to mention Petunia and Vernon hated magic. Dudley watching stage magicians on the telly had them actually yelling at him once. Perhaps they knew something?
He looked over each letter curiously. The foreign schools each offered support in case he didn't speak their language. Two of them offered to teach the local language magically: Parthenon and Uagadou. Harry found that interesting as learning a new language would be fun. Mahoutokoro mentioned special programs for quidditch, whatever that was.
One thing, however, made Harry take notice. Parthenon Academy of Magic had a special program for dedicated students where you could stay at the school year round. He would never have to return to the Dursleys if he didn't want to!
That in and of itself was enough for him to want to attend if this really wasn't an elaborate prank. But he looked over what each school offered before nodding.
Parthenon it was.
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"Aunt Petunia? Uncle Vernon?" Harry asked hesitantly as he came downstairs that evening.
"What do you want, boy?" asked Vernon, giving him a glare. "I just got home from work and I wanted to relax, not be bothered by your foolishness."
"I received some letters in the mail," Harry began. "They were from magical schools."
"Don't say that word in this house!" Vernon snarled, glaring at him. "When we took you in, we decided we'd avoid that absurdity. You're gone to Stonewall, not some silly magical school. We won't have that utter bollocks in our house!"
Petunia sniffed, "Is that why you were so quiet today? Thinking about that foolishness. Just like my sister."
"I understand," Harry said with a sigh. "It's too bad. One of them has year-round schooling. You'd never have to deal with me again." He could be a sneaky kid when he wanted to be. He had to be sometimes.
"What?" Vernon glanced up in surprise. "Full-year schooling?"
"That's what the letter said. It's for 'dedicated students', apparently," Harry explained.
"Any details?" Vernon asked, looking at Harry with a frown.
"Not in the letter, just that it exists. I assume it's something I'd have to talk to them about," Harry said with a shrug.
Vernon looked conflicted. On the one hand, he didn't want Harry to learn magic. On the other, he'd be glad to be rid of the freak. "All right. How do you contact them? If they really are willing to take you full time, then we'll allow it."
"I'll get the letter," Harry said, heading upstairs. Picking the letter up from his desk, he headed downstairs. "It says to put the acceptance into the envelope and close it..." Already having written an acceptance, Harry put words to action.
The envelope disappeared with a soft pop.
"Woh," Harry said in shock, "I guess it went to whoever it's supposed to go to."
Vernon turned purple, barely controlling himself. "All right, boy. Go upstairs, we don't want to see you till tomorrow."
"All right, sir," Harry agreed. He quickly took a detour into the kitchen to make a sandwich and headed up to his bedroom.
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The next evening, Harry and the Dursley family heard someone knocking at the front door. "Boy--Harry," called Vernon from the sitting room, "Answer the door!"
Coming down the stairs, Harry opened the front door. Standing on the doorstep was a tall, slender woman with olive features and grey-black hair. She wore a dark green dress with a long skirt and held a thin attache case in her left hand. "Good evening. Mr Potter?" She had a very slight accent, though Harry couldn't place it.
"Yes ma'am. You are?" Harry asked as he stepped back slightly to let her in.
"I am Anastasia Kazan. I am what you would call the Headmistress of the Parthenon Academy of Magic." She inclined her head, dropping into a half-curtsy. It should have looked silly, but somehow it suited her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Potter. You may call me Professor Kazan."
"Uh, hello, ma'am. Please come in," Harry said, trying to be formal and bowing; he wasn't sure if he was doing it properly, though.
As she entered the sitting room, Anastasia's gaze took in the many photographs found within: all of a pair of smiling parents and a rotund young boy. Not one photograph of Harry could be seen. An almost impossibly slender woman entered from the hallway; Anastasia frowned slightly as out of the corner of her eye she saw the woman glaring at Harry. Schooling her features into a polite mask, she stated, "You would be Mr Potter's guardians, yes? I am Anastasia Kazan, Headmistress of Parthenon Academy."
"I'm Vernon Dursley and this is my wife Petunia," was the brusque response. He knew when to be polite; this was one such time. "The boy mentioned he got a letter from your school. He said there was an option to stay year-round?"
Tilting her head to the side quizzically, Anastasia frowned. Normally people asked other questions first. "Interesting first question, Mr Dursley. Yes, there is. I will begin with some history. The Parthenon Academy of Magic was first built during the reign of Justinian the First to train magicals who wished to join a monastery or the priesthood. It became a full magical school under the reign of Heraclius, who was a non-magical born of magicals: what the British call a squib." She continued after noting that the couple didn't seem to care about the history, "Anyway, the full residency is a tradition that we continue to maintain in spite of how few actually choose it. We take our calling as educators quite seriously. Most students want to see their families for more than a day or two a year. Some have other reasons to choose to stay at Parthenon full time." One such being one she was very much beginning to think applied in this case.
Vernon frowned, thinking, "The Parthenon is in Greece, right? I doubt he'd want to visit us for a day when it was so far away. We wouldn't want to disrupt his studies, anyway. Better to have him study hard, right?" He laughed briefly then considered, "What is involved?"
Beside him, his wife nodded her head. "Oh, he loves to study, I bet he'd adore attending your school full time!"
The Dursleys were quite able to lie if it meant getting rid of him. Harry didn't even have to lie, "I do like to study, I'd love to learn as much as I could! What are the classes like?"
It was beginning to look like she had been right. Harry Potter had a family that didn't want him. It was a shock; he was an icon in Britain. She was tempted to use legilimency to verify her suspicions but that was illegal. "We can discuss that in a moment, Mr Potter," she said to him with a smile. To Vernon and Petunia she added, "Oh, it's simple enough." Anastasia took a moment to gather her thoughts and opened her attache case to pull out a variety of forms. "First of all, if he's not residing in your home we must be his guardians for legal purposes. You need to sign these forms transferring full custody to me as the Headmistress of the Parthenon Academy. These are filed in both the non-magical and magical worlds. This ensures that he is legally covered in both worlds."
"That's all we have to do? What about paying for the school?" Vernon asked, wrinkling his nose at the thought of paying for the freak's schooling.
"Ah, you don't have to worry about that," Anastasia assured him. "We have a fund for needy students." They did but unless something was very wrong, Harry would have more than enough money from his parents to fund his education. "Both of you must sign here, here, and here," she said, pointing with a slender finger. After they did so, the woman signed in turn. "There. All set!" She offered Harry an encouraging smile, "Why don't we go upstairs and pack your things and then we can be on our way, Mr Potter?"
"So soon?" asked Harry, blinking.
"Best to be on our way, I think," she said. "I'm sure that your former guardians would like to get back to their evening." And she wanted him out of that house if half the things she suspected were true. No true parent was that willing to sign away custody to a stranger. She would have to file the papers immediately. Normally custody transfers took time in the non-magical world but magical governments had a way to expedite such matters.
"All right," Harry agreed. He led her upstairs and entered his room.
When she looked around the room, she sighed. Not one of his things was visible; it was all out of sight. If he had any personal effects at all. She hated being right. "I take it your family never cared for you, Mr Potter?"
Harry shrugged and looked down, embarrassed.
"Mr Potter, no, Harry, I need to know," the woman said gently.
"They always said they found me on their doorstep and that I was a burden to them. Aunt Petunia talked a lot about how my parents were losers who died in a car accident. She liked to say I'd never amount to anything, just like my parents. They certainly have enough money for Dudley though." Harry shrugged. "They didn't really hit me much, just...didn't care and said a lot of mean things. And encouraged Dudley to bully me."
Anastasia stared at him. "You were told your parents were losers who died in a car accident?" Her voice was shocked. "That's not what happened at all!" She shook her head, "We will definitely have to discuss that as well as your schooling. Now that you're under my custody, Harry, you should call me Anastasia. At least in private."
"All right, ma'am. Er, Anastasia," Harry said. He opened his drawers, "I don't have a suitcase," He admitted to her.
"I'll handle it," Anastasia said with a smile, murmuring quietly under her breath and making a few odd gestures with her fingers. His clothing flew out of the dresser and somehow shrunk down to fit into her attache case. The books sitting on his desk were next. "Anything else?"
Harry nodded and moved to the bed, kneeling. He slid aside a floorboard and picked up a few books and trinkets, "Just this," He said.
Cheap clothes. A few old books and odds and ends, most of which he felt that he had to hide. That's all he has when it's obvious his aunt and uncle are well off. This poor boy, thought Anastasia. With a simple pointed finger, the rest of his things were stored in her attache case, and she nodded, "There." She sounded pleased.
"How did you do that?" Harry asked.
"Magic," she said dryly. "It's something we teach at Parthenon. We teach both the European wanded style of magic and the wandless magic preferred in Africa and the Middle East. We had a guest professor from MACUSA a few years back who taught North American elemental magic, as well." She sounded proud.
"MACUSA?" asked Harry in confusion.
"Magical Congress of the United States of America," she explained. "America's magical government."
"Oh. I didn't realize there were entire governments of magical people, but I guess it makes sense." Harry paused, "Of course, I didn't know magic existed until I received all of those letters. I thought it was a big prank at first, but then I saw that the picture on one of the letters moved."
Anastasia's lips twitched. "I can see how that might convince someone that magic could be real," she observed. She gestured with one hand after shutting her attache case. "Shall we?" Walking downstairs, she stopped near the sitting room, "We'll be leaving now."
"Yes," Vernon said, nodding from where he was sitting watching television. "Good luck." His tone was brusque as if wanting them to leave. Petunia simply ignored them.
Anastasia sighed. Some people. Leading Harry out of the house, she walked down the block. Once they came to the park not far away, she led him towards one of the trees. "All right, Harry. I'm going to do something called apparate. It's basically teleporting from one place to another. It's also very uncomfortable when it's your first time, so be prepared, all right?" An idle thought had her pulling out a wand and gesturing as a rugby cap appeared in her hand. "Put that on your head."
"Yes ma'am."
Once she was sure was ready, Anastasia took Harry's arm and apparated. Harry stumbled, nearly falling to his knees as he felt his stomach trying to empty itself. Looking around, he saw they were in an alley. "That was horrible. It was like I was being squeezed through a hose or something."
"It's not so bad when you are the one apparating. You get used to it as well," Anastasia explained before gesturing. "Keep your head down, please. I have a lot to tell you about your family and don't want distractions. Suffice it to say that you're famous in the magical world and you don't want to draw attention to yourself." As she spoke, she led him out of the alley towards a rather dingy tavern. "This is the Leaky Cauldron. It's the gateway to the magical shopping district in London," Anastasia explained.
As they passed through the tavern, Harry looked around surreptitiously. The people inside were dressed strangely, wearing long dresses or robes in all sorts of different bright colours. Anastasia led him to a side door and into another alley. Pulling her wand, she tapped a brick on the wall, and he stared as the bricks slowly moved to the side to show another street.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry," Anastasia said with a smile. "First things first, we're going to Gringotts Bank to check your accounts. Your parents were wealthy; there should be something there for your schooling."
Harry blinked, "My parents were wealthy? Did the Dursleys know?"
"Most likely not, which is lucky for you. It's unlikely they'd have been able to access your accounts, but it's possible." She continued, "Your father's family is very old and wealthy. Your mother, on the other hand, was a genius. She created a few spells and runic clusters that made her a great deal of money."
"Runic clusters?" Harry wondered.
"There is more to magic than spells. Runic clusters are groupings of mystical runes. Unlike spells, runes can work together to create complicated effects that would be difficult, if not impossible, for a single spell to accomplish," Anastasia explained. "Your mother's specialities were Charms and Runes."
Harry nodded at her as he considered her words. After a moment, he said with a slight smile, "This is the first time I've really heard anything about my parents that was positive."
Anastasia made a face. She really wanted to go back and hex those people. As they approached a large marble building, she told him, "The bank is run by goblins. Be formal but not overly friendly. Goblins don't like it when wizards try to be their friends. The best way to deal with goblins is to be polite and forthright. And always honest. Goblins always keep their word."
"That sounds easy enough," Harry agreed as he followed her into the bank. There were a few people in the bank, waiting or talking to one of the goblin tellers.
Walking up to one of the tellers, Anastasia murmured, "I would like to speak to an account representative privately."
The goblin gave Anastasia a look and wrote something on a piece of parchment in front of him. After a few moments, a response appeared on the paper and he looked up at her, "Go to meeting room four and wait."
"Thank you," Anastasia said with a nod and gestured to Harry. They walked down a hallway to a door with the number four carved into the wood. Opening the door, Anastasia entered, moving to sit down. She opened her attache case and pulled out the papers the Dursleys had signed. "Harry, it will probably be a few minutes, so please sit."
Taking a seat, Harry asked, "So goblins run a bank? If they aren't friendly with people, why?"
"Yes," Anastasia answered, "Goblins and wizards have a long history. Sometimes, goblins started wars and sometimes wizards started wars. As for why, because they realized wars aren't profitable in the long run and needed a way to make themselves indispensable. Britain particularly has a negative relationship with goblins due to the Ministry of Magic's attempts to control and marginalize them, I'm afraid." She chuckled, "Unfortunately for the British Ministry, goblins are also of impeccable character and everyone knows it. It would take a great deal to cause a goblin to break his word. It's why they're so trusted as bankers. The Ministry has tried to create their own bank, but each time it's failed."
"Interesting," Harry said after a moment, "Do they do anything else?"
"Of course. They have their own society after all. When interacting with wizards they primarily deal with wealth though. Managing it as bankers, finding it through curse breakers looting tombs, protecting it through warding, that sort of thing." Anastasia paused, considering, "Goblin society is built on transactions, so that's part of how they think." She was an educator after all.
Anastasia quieted as the door opened, and a goblin entered. "You wished to speak to an account manager? I'm Redeye."
"Yes," Anastasia said as she inclined her head. Following her own advice, she stated, "This is Harry Potter. I have recently gained guardianship of him," she told the goblin, offering the papers to him, "I will be filing these with the ICW tomorrow. I need a complete ledger and all records for the Potter Vaults."
The goblin frowned slightly and took the papers, looking them over. He pulled out a folded parchment from a leather folder and wrote upon it. "I am asking for verification of Ms Dursley's guardianship. It will be a few minutes." With that, the goblin waited, not speaking further.
Not more than five minutes later, a response appeared on the parchment, and he nodded. "Ms Dursley's guardianship is verified, Ms Kazan." He again started writing on the parchment. "The ledgers will be here momentarily. Is there anything else?"
"That will depend on the ledgers," Anastasia said. "However, Mr Potter will need to visit his vaults after we're finished." She hoped there were some things from his parents there.
"Of course," said Redeye. Once more, the goblin lapsed into silence, and after a few more minutes passed, another goblin came in with a pair of ledgers. He set them down, "Here you are, Ms Kazan," Redeye stated, passing them over to her.
Anastasia accepted the books, "I will take a few minutes. Thank you." She nodded and looked over the first ledger. "Nothing's been taken from the heirloom vault since your parents died," she told Harry. "Some objects were placed inside after their deaths, likely from their home in Godric's Hollow."
"Oh, I'd like to see those," Harry told her and she nodded at him.
"As for your gold..." she frowned, "Everything's in place, but all managed investments were halted after your parents' deaths."
Redeye stated after looking at a paper he pulled from his folder, "Albus Dumbledore ordered the sale of all managed investments before guardianship was passed to Petunia Dursley. He said that as there would be no one to manage them, it was best to sell all investments off." It was obvious Redeye disagreed with this.
"That's preposterous. He could simply have hired a goblin to handle the account." Anastasia sounded angry. "At least he still owns the long term investments like his shares in the Daily Prophet. But he probably cost you a great deal of money in lost investment profit over the years." She looked at Redeye. "I will need to discuss this matter further. Can you arrange a meeting with an investment manager at Gringotts Athens next week?"
"That can be done," Redeye agreed.
"All right. Do that then. I also want the Potter Vaults moved to Gringotts Athens so he can access them without using an International Portkey," Anastasia decided.
"Normally there would be a transfer fee," Redeye observed, "But Gringotts will waive the fee as you are planning on pursuing investment opportunities." Sometimes, you had to lose a little money to make a lot more money. Goblins weren't stupid.
He pulled a sheaf of papers from a compartment in the leather folder in front of him, writing quickly, "Sign here, Ms Kazan, and I will have the Vaults transferred."
"Good, thank you," Anastasia said with a nod. "That's all for now, other than Harry visiting the vaults."
"I will summon a vault runner. Wait here until he arrives." The goblin inclined his head and quickly left.
"You said goblins don't like people. Why would Redeye waive the transfer fee?" Harry asked curiously.
"He waived the fee because goblins are very good businessmen," Anastasia explained, "You have a great deal of wealth. Encouraging you - or rather me as your guardian - to invest is far more important than a small fee for moving your vaults."
"I suppose that makes sense," Harry agreed with a slight frown, thinking over her words. "It's all very complicated isn't it?"
"Any interaction with people can be complicated," Anastasia admitted.
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Harry found himself smiling as they left the bank. In his vault, he'd found some notebooks owned by his mother and father. Each one had a variety of things within, from school notes to comments about their friends. He'd learn so much about his parents from them! Glancing towards Anastasia, he asked, "Where are we going now?"
"I have an international portkey that will take me back to Athens," Anastasia said to him. "We'll both take it, and I'll get you settled in at Parthenon. And tell you about your parents. I have to file the guardianship papers with the ICW tomorrow, so will be busy then. I will have one of the other teachers take you to get your books once we decide what classes you'll be taking. You'll have more than other students as a live-in student. We will be expecting great things from you."
"All right," Harry agreed after a moment. "I'll do my best." For the first time, ever... Harry was looking forward to the future.